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Sunday, March 02, 2014

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Spread

I never used to like bell peppers. I consider myself to be a pretty omnivorous (and
passionately so) person so I don’t like to let myself fall too easily into food
prejudice. I just, try as I might, could
not get into bell peppers’ bright crunch.
I would assiduously pick them out of pizzas and salads, and would poke
at them morosely when I would spot them in an omelet, their crunch unfazed by
the brief stint in the skillet. I know
they are wonderful and beloved by many, but for me, unfortunately, the
attraction was just not there.

That is, until the first time I had them roasted.Roasting turns the capsicum into a luscious
and mellowed version of its formerly peppy self.The slow deliberate heat renders them sweetly
smoky, and in my book, much more appealing.This I could eat by the truckload…and from the very first time I roasted
a pepper, I have been doing so (ok, maybe not a truckload…more like a small SUV
portion).

Roasting (and peeling) peppers is one of the easiest
things you can do in your kitchen. It is
also immensely rewarding – not just because the peppers you roast yourself will
taste so much better than anything you buy in a bottle (and it will…oh how it
will!), but also because there is nothing quite so satisfying as successfully peeling
the charred skin off a pepper in one whole piece (akin to getting a chestnut
out of its shell whole).Any way you
look at it home roasted red peppers are a
winner.

I like to buy a bunch of peppers at the market when they
are looking really red, shiny, and tempting.Just
the red ones mostly, sometimes the orange and yellows, never the greens.No matter what you do to them, there is no
saving the green peppers for me.Anyway.I like to roast them as described below and
then stuff them in a jar topped with olive oil.I keep the jar in the fridge and use the peppers throughout the week,
and let me tell you, it is an absolute godsend.You can use them in salads, sandwiches, pastas, stews, as part of an
antipasti platter when you have the neighbors over for drinks…

And in this spread.

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Spread

3 red peppers (about 400 grams in total)

150 grams goat cheese

Extra virgin olive oil

Freshly cracked black pepper

Optional: pesto, basil oil, pine nuts

- Slice each pepper lengthways into quarters, removing the
stem and the seeds.Lay the peppers skin
side up on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast in an oven with the broiler
on.You want high heat from above to
char the skin and I’ve found this is my favorite way to do it.

- When the peppers’ skins are blackened, this could take
anywhere from 15-20 minutes (less if your broiler is strong so be vigilant and
don’t go wandering off!), take them out of the oven and immediately transfer
them to a bowl and cover tightly with clingfilm, taking care to make an
airtight seal.When the peppers are cool
enough to handle, remove the clingfilm and peel the charred skin of the
peppers.The skin will slide off easily.

- Place the cooled and peeled peppers together with the
goat cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and some freshly cracked black pepper in a
food processor and blitz until smooth.

- Transfer the mixture into a crock or a bowl and drizzle
with pesto or basil oil, and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Not only is this a delicious way to use roasted peppers,
this is also a really versatile spread to have around.Since I’ve made this I’ve already use it in
everything from simply slathering on crackers to splodged on some roasted eggplant (with a chickpea salad on the side).I’ve also used it with these chickpeas,
stuffing both into a pita (from a new vendor I tried at the Legazpi Sunday
market) with some torn basil tucked in.

You don’t need to add the pesto or pine nuts but they
really make a good accent, so I’ve added them as optional here.But really all you need are the peppers
and the goat cheese and you are good to go.I’ve used Malagos chevre here.Malagos is a lovely local cheese maker with some really great cheeses
under their belt.Their cherve is one of
my favorites, along with their Blue Pepato.I absolutely love that we have some awesome artisan cheesemakers on our
shores and I highly encourage supporting them!

It’s now Sunday night and I’ve spent a fantastic weekend
with family and neighbors and friends.Simple times, but wonderful times.And a lot of the time…that is the very best kind.Hope you spent yours in a likewise fashion!

4 comments:

Totally unrelated to the recipe, but you gave me an idea on how to go about roasting my eggplants for tortang talong! I don't have a gas range over here and it just tastes blech when you don't char the eggplant skin. Thanks for the tip :p

I found your blog by absolute chance and I love it! I lived in the Philippines for a while (native German) and this gave me a lot of inspiration for cooking coupled with a strong dose of longing to travel again. Anyway, when you mentioned the Malagos cheese in this post, I just had to leave you a shout-out - since I lived in Davao and actually visited the Malagos farm and resort and OF COURSE ate their fabulous cheese. Will try the recipe once my oven is back to working. Thank you! Warm greetings from Germany :)

Hi Lara! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! So happy to hear you are enjoying my blog :) :) How lucky that you were able to visit the Malagos farm!! I would love to one day... Best to you from Manila!